Stanton Moore shares his kitchen table with Geoffrey and BobAfter an easy ferry ride across the Mississippi River - from the French Quarter to Algiers - we met Stanton Moore in his kitchen on our first morning in New Orleans. Over the next few days we saw him play three times in three different venues. Man gets around. In person, he’s less fidgety than other drummers I’ve known, and he seems happy to talk at length about the history of music in his hometown, various techniques, and even politics and the environment.

Moore talked with Bob about his band Galactic, and their latest CD, Ya-Ka-May, his side project called Groove Alchemy (which includes a CD, a DVD and an instructional drumming book) and his trio, which is touring this summer. You can go here to find out if they’re headed toward you.

Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews talks with Bob at Cafe Rose NicaudThe same day we met Stanton Moore, Troy Andrews — Trombone Shorty — joined us at a coffee house to talk with Bob about his career, which already spans 20 years. Andrews is 24. He toured with Lenny Kravitz when he was 19, he’s in several episodes of the HBO program Treme, and his new CD, Backatown, is getting rave reviews everywhere. All that success hasn’t gone to his head though. And considering the sound that comes out of his horn, it’s surprising how quiet and mild-mannered he is in conversation. Andrews is also touring this summer, and you can check those dates here.

I think the worst thing that can happen to a city with a strong creative streak is to get stuck in what sells and stop listening to the youngsters. The success of Stanton Moore and Trombone Shorty shows there’s no danger of that happening in New Orleans.

Here’s a movie of the drumming demo Stanton Moore gave us before we caught the ferry back to the French Quarter.